We are very pleased and excited to announce the signing of former Aston Villa front man Stefan Moore (27) from Zamaretto Premier, Halesowen Town. We have paid an undisclosed 5 figure sum, up front and in full, to secure Stefan’s signature on a two and a half year contract which see’s him commit his services to the Saints until the end of the 2012/13 season. Stefan who in his first full season in non league football scored 39 goals for Halesowen Town, winning the Zamaretto Premier League Golden boot for 2009/10 in the process.

As a youngster he Captained Aston Villa to victory over Everton in the F. A. Youth Cup at which time he was being favourably compared to another youngster playing for Everton by the name of Wayne Rooney. Stefan has recently been described as the best forward in non league football and earlier this season Halesowen turned down a purported bid of £25k from a high spending Conference outfit who wanted him to return to the game on a full time basis.

We have been searching for a high calibre striker since the turn of the year and have had a number of potential targets in mind. We have been monitoring Stefan’s situation since the start of this season and felt that the time was right to pursue our interest. We contacted Halesowen on Sunday and they gave us permission to speak to Stefan who travelled to St Neots the following day. Stefan was very excited about our vision for the future and immediately indicated his desire to join us. We then commenced negotiations with Halesowen Town and gained agreement with their owners following a series of transatlantic telephone calls over Tuesday evening. Mike Kearns and John Delaney travelled to Birmingham on Wednesday to conclude the arrangements with Stefan, who had no hesitation in signing. Immediately after our meeting with Stefan we met with the Chairman of Halesowen Town to finalise the transfer fee, complete the documentation and make payment. The documents have now been lodged with the F.A. and the H.T.U.C.L. and we expect to gain clearance for the player to make his debut in the F. A. Carlsberg Vase against Felixstowe on Saturday.

Stefan trained with his new team mate’s last night and when asked about his reason for joining the Saints said “I have signed for two and a half years as I believe in the project that the owners have for the Club. Everything about St Neots has been very impressive and both Mike and John, who are very passionate about their Club, conducted themselves throughout the transaction in a highly professional manner. I have a very good feeling about the whole set up”.

Chairman John Delaney commented “this is probably the most audacious and biggest transfer deal in the whole of non league football, this season. We have signed a top quality player who is in his prime and many clubs will be casting envious eyes towards us now. If anyone doubted our intention to do everything possible in our power to progress up the pyramid then this should make matters very clear. This lad scored over 41% of Halesowen’s goals last season and was the top scorer in a highly competitive league”.

Stefan spent 5 years at Aston Villa and after captaining their youth team he played 22 games in the Premier league. He then moved to Queens Park Rangers in 2005 where he spent three seasons making 39 first team appearances. He also enjoyed a number of loan spells before arriving at Halesowen in 2009.

We would like to go on record to thank Halesowen for expediting our offer and finalising the transaction quickly.

Finally we welcome Stefan to the Saints and wish him a very successful and rewarding career with us.